Candidate for
City Council member; City of Burlingame

Terry has been a Burlingame homeowner and active community volunteer for 29 years. She was elected to the Burlingame City Council in 2003 with the highest number of votes in a six-way race and is currently serving as Mayor.

She is best known for organizing hundreds of residents in 2002 to protest the city's frequent power outages. After citizens suffered repeated and prolonged power failures, she formed a citizens' action group called Burlingamers Unwilling to Live with Blackouts (BULB) and set up two Town Hall Meetings that allowed hundreds of residents to register their complaints with both PG&E and the California Public Utilities Commission, which regulates PG&E.

BULB persuaded PG&E to spend more than $2.4 million on improvements to circuits in Burlingame. Power outages on Burlingame's five most problematic circuits decreased 85 percent from 2002 to 2003. BULB is continuing to monitor power reliability.

Terry organized Poppy Drive residents in 1996 to battle three "McMansions" that threatened her neighborhood. She convinced the City Council to make the developer downsize and redesign the houses. Her efforts led to the city's adoption of design review guidelines that have been the model for other cities.

In 2006 Terry was one of 20 elected leaders chosen for the League of California Cities' California Civic Leadership Institute, a highly selective program that educates future leaders on issues facing the state. She is a 2003 graduate of Coro Center for Civic Leadership's Community Fellows leadership program, which examines political, social and economic issues pertaining to the Bay Area and teaches techniques for community collaboration.

Community Service

During her four years on the Burlingame City Council, Terry has taken her public service to a new level by working on regional projects as a member of countywide bodies. In addition, she has mobilized volunteers and started numerous new initiatives that anticipate our needs in the future and make living in Burlingame more rewarding.

She is a longtime supporter of education. As PTA president of Lincoln School, she started a Computer Task Force that networked the school, led a Child Care Task Force that negotiated services with an on-site provider, organized a parent education seminar series and started a pilot program with Stanford University that allowed Lincoln students to enroll in an online mathematics training course through the Education Program for Gifted Youth at a discount rate. At Burlingame High School, she chaired the Communications Committee, started the school's e-newsletter for parents and headed the BHS Music Boosters' annual holiday fundraiser at the Garden Center.

In recognition of Terry's dedication to schools, the Lincoln PTA awarded her its Honorary Service Award. The California Teachers Association awarded her the John Swett Award for Media Excellence, which is the highest recognition given in California for education reporting.

She recently negotiated an agreement between the Burlingame City Council and Board of Trustees of the Burlingame Elementary School District that fosters a strong collaborative relationship between the city and the schools. It pledges their commitment to work together to make facilities and services available to the public on an ongoing basis.

Terry is currently serving as Chair of the Centennial Executive Committee; on the Board of Directors of the Central County Fire Department; on the San Mateo County Emergency Services Council; the Liaison Committee for the city and the Burlingame Elementary School District; and on the San Mateo County Utilities and Sustainability Task Force, which is creating an energy and sustainability plan for all cities in the county.

She founded the Burlingame Green Ribbon Task Force; the Coalition to Improve Transit Services, which is working to improve public transit; Burlingamers Unwilling to Live with Blackouts (BULB); the Neighborhood Network emergency preparedness/crime prevention program; the Burlingame Pet Parade; and the Community Wish List for San Mateo County at http://www.communitywishlist.org, which matches people who have goods to give away with nonprofits that need them.

In prior years, she has served as:

• PTA President, Lincoln School, Burlingame
• Vice President of Fundraising, Lincoln School, Burlingame
• Vice President, California Press Women, Northern California Chapter
• Member, CALL Primrose Center Board of Directors
• Chair, Burlingame High School Communications Committee
• Chair, Burlingame High School Band Holiday Open House fundraiser
• Deacon, First Presbyterian Church of Burlingame
• Volunteer with Music at Kohl Mansion, San Mateo Arboretum Society, Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts

Terry started her career as a travel writer and editor and went on to become a staff writer and editor for the original San Mateo Times, where she learned how local government works by covering hundreds of city council, school board and county meetings. She later worked as an editor at the San Francisco Chronicle, as Assistant Managing Editor of Forbes ASAP magazine, and as Managing Editor of GreatSchools.net, a nonprofit Web site offering free education information for parents. She also founded and managed two online travel forums for Expedia.com devoted to family travel and adventure travel. She experienced the challenges of running a small business while operating an out-of-print book search business in Burlingame for 18 years.

She currently works for the Skoll Foundation, a nonprofit foundation that supports social entrepreneurs around the world. Social entrepreneurs are individuals who dedicate their lives to creating new solutions that result in lasting improvements in communities around the world.

Terry is married to Jim Nagel. They moved to Burlingame shortly after they were married. They have three children, Katie, 27, Matt, 24, and Greg, 21, who all attended Burlingame public schools and graduated from Burlingame High School.

She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, cum laude, from the University of Washington in Seattle.